Can we just get a Power Rangers Musou already and stop releasing nonsense like Mighty Morphin Power Rangers Mega Battle?

My initial reaction to the October announcement of the 2D brawler from Bandai Namco and developer Bamtang was “This looks like garbage,” but not having played the game I gave it the benefit of the doubt. I should have stuck with my gut.

So many Putty Patrollers.

Released last week as a downloadable title for the Xbox One and PlayStation 4, Mighty Morphin Power Rangers Mega Battle is an old school scrolling 2D brawler for up to four local players. The game features the original set of Rangers as we known them in the States, along with villainous mainstays like Rita Repulsa and her constant string of lackeys that don’t unleash their full power until the end of the episode.

I could forgive the stiff animations, the often clumsy controls and the quicktime events that serve as Megazord battles if the game scratched the Power Ranger nostalgia itch, but with voice work limited to short clips and not a lot of non-Ranger interaction, it falls short of that as well. Fond memories only carried me just past the character selection screen.

Part of me wants to say, “But Mike, this is a game for kids.” But why go with the two decade old original Rangers then? Save this sort of thing for Ninja Steel or whatever’s coming next, and if you want to go back over Ranger history, go long and deep.

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Check out the video atop the post for ten minutes of me wishing I were playing a better game.